Asking for Forgiveness
by Hizumi
Summary: Slight AU. Misao is resented towards Aoshi, and she shows it. She ignores him and it just drives Aoshi a bit insane. He wants to get the old Misao back, but he has no clue how. Disaster is about to happen when he goes to Kenshin and Sano for help...
1. The Talk at Midnight

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin… *snaps fingers* darn…

Asking for Forgiveness

Chapter One:

The Talk at Midnight

The day had finally gone. Night took over Kyoto and it seemed that everyone was fast asleep in their beds. Well, almost. Misao was the only one awake at the Aoiya.

Getting up from her futon, she made her way to the kitchen, or what was left of it. Thanks to the Juppon Gatana, the Aoiya now looked like a war zone. No matter, Misao and the rest of the Oniwa Banshu will restore it in no time tomorrow.

Her ribs were still sore after that beating that she took from Kamatari. Still, she was such a good sport that Kaoru and herself helped treat his wounds, and those of the Juppon Gatana. Misao sighed as she remembered all of the days happenings. But still, there was something troubling her mind.

_Aoshi…_ Her mind would remind her. _Why?..._

Misao sat on the steps of the porch that lead outside. Fireflies would dance around her and she would only smile, a sad smile at that.

Her mind would wander… Wander when she found out that Aoshi, her Okashira, had betrayed her and the Oniwa Banshu.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Misao sniffled at bit, and then hugged her legs to her chest. It brought tears to her eyes that Aoshi would betray her like that. It also made her angry. Misao didn't cry tears of pain or suffering, but of anger and resentment towards the one man she thought she loved.

She couldn't lie to herself. Misao did love Aoshi, but after what he did, she just couldn't think she could ever forgive him. Maybe in time she would, but not now.

A cool breeze swept through the yard. It made Misao feel slightly better than the just a little while ago. She sighed again and went into the kitchen to get something to drink; her throat was feeling quite dry. When she came outside again, she found Kaoru walking down the steps. It seemed that she too was having difficulty sleeping.

"Hey Kaoru" Misao greeted her with a cup in her hands. She took a seat next to Kaoru who sat out on the porch looking at the sky; quite similar to what Misao herself was doing not to long ago.

"Hey Misao, why are you still awake?" Kaoru asked, looking at Misao.

"I just couldn't sleep." Misao said quietly.

"Oh," Kaoru said. "Is it the pain in your ribs? Are they acting up again?" Kaoru asked slightly worried, it could mean that Misao's injuries were graver than what they seemed.

"Oh no" Misao assured her. "They haven't been bothering me, I'm strong remember?" She said quiet cheerfully making Kaoru smile at her.

Misao smiled too and then quickly looked up at the sky. A moment passed between them where no one talked. The breeze came and went along with the twinkling of the stars above them.

"So what's really bothering you?" Kaoru said without looking at Misao. Misao looked at her with awe but said nothing at first; she didn't know how she's was going to put this into words.

"Well…" She started off quite embarrassed. "It's…" she looked around, "It's all this. I hate what's happening now." Well, she was being quite truthful. She hated what was happening now with Kenshin and Shishio. In a way, she felt helpless.

Kaoru just listened in silence, deep in her mind, she knew this wasn't what was REALLY bothering Misao. "Why don't you just tell me the truth?" She said sincerely. Misao began to blush with embarrassment.

"Ok," she said. "It's really Aoshi that's bothering me." Misao said quite quietly; now she was looking down at her hands, fiddling with them while she spoke. True, everyone knew that Misao had special feelings towards Aoshi. But now, while talking to Kaoru, Misao realized it was hard to say what it was exactly she wanted to say.

Kaoru smiled at her. "I knew that was it." She patted Misao on the back, in a sisterly manner. Misao took this time to take a drink from her cup she was holding in her hands. "What else?"

Misao sighed then continued. "I hate…" she trailed off. "I hate what he did. I mean, it was stupid of him!" Misao said angrily. She sighed deeply to compile herself. She didn't want to take her anger out on Kaoru.

Kaoru just sat there and listened, never trying to tell her she was wrong for thinking how she did. It was the best medicine to just talk about this sort of thing. She would listen until the end, then give advice to Misao on what she should do, or how should she act. Now, if she didn't heed Kaoru's advice, it was her decision.

"…He's such an idiot! I wish this didn't happen! I wish…" Misao trailed off. She put her head on her lap and put her arms over her head. She sighed and when she spoke, her voice trembled a bit. "I wish Beshimi, Hyotoko, Shiki-jo, Han-nya were still alive." Misao broke down into quite sobs. She remembered them well, and prayed that they were in a place were they were happy.

Kaoru stroked her head gently. She could understand of the pain of losing dear people that were close to you. "Shh…" Kaoru tried to calm her down. "You know it wasn't Aoshi's fault they gave their life for him. He was their Okashira, and they believed in him. They gave up their lives to save Aoshi."

Misao sniffed. She knew the story, and she knew it wasn't Aoshi's fault. "I know it wasn't." Misao smiled at bit when she looked at Kaoru. "Han-nya told me that Aoshi was going to return to the Aoiya."

Kaoru was a bit startled at her smile. She was just crying a second ago and now she was smiling. _What an odd girl_ Kaoru thought. She was brought from her thoughts when she heard Misao continue talking.

"There was another thing on my mind as well," she said looking at the ground now. Kaoru looked at her and waited for her to continue. "It's what Aoshi did."

Kaoru was confused. "What did Aoshi do?"

"He betrayed us, he betrayed me! He went off and joined forces with Shishio!" This, it seemed, was the cause of Misao's anger. It was more than the death of the four members of the Oniwa Banshu. This was paining her heart.

"Misao…" Kaoru started off, she wanted to reason with her, but it seemed she wasn't going to listen to what anyone else had to say.

"I don't care what people say! I don't care if he did do it for the title of being the strongest. He was a jackass! He should have known that taking Kenshin's life wasn't going to bring back all four of them!" At this point, Misao stood up and was talking quite loudly.

"Please, Misao, calm down! You'll wake the whole house up!" Kaoru said, motioning with her hands to lower her tone of voice. Misao did, sat back down and stood quiet for a moment.

"I don't know if I can ever have trust in Aoshi again…" she murmured. She heaved a heavy sigh and Kaoru could feel the conflict inside Misao's heart. 

"Don't worry," Kaoru said quietly. "Give it time, watch. You'll see" Those words of encouragement made Misao feel a little better.

She smiled at Kaoru. "Thank you" she said quietly, then stood up. "It's late, we should go to bed." Kaoru nodded in agreement with her and both of them left towards their own room.

Inside Misao's room, she made a promise to her and Aoshi, when he came back. "Things will be different around here… You'll see…"

(AN: End of Chapter One. I don't know whether to continue this or not so review and tell me what you think! ^-^)


	2. The Return Home

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin

(AN: This happens when Kenshin, Aoshi and Sanosuke come back from fighting Shishio. Some things happen out of order. Yeah, just to tell all of you… So anyone won't kill me! ^-^)

Asking for Forgiveness

Chapter Two:

The Return Home

After about a couple of days since the talk with Kaoru, Misao has been acting differently. Well, besides the point that her ribs are still swollen from Kamatari's attack, she's been acting… cold towards everyone lately.

No more childish outbursts.

No more childish manners.

No more of those types of things.

It was exactly this that was worrying Kaoru. 'I wonder if she'll kill Aoshi when he comes back…' Kaoru would think to herself once in a while after stealing glances at Misao. She seemed quite and distant all the time, and even her Okina was started to get worried.

During breakfast, Misao didn't eat. She just excused herself and left the Aoiya against her Okina's wishes. Everyone was dumbfounded. What had happened to Misao?

Yahiko was the first to speak. "What crawled up her ass?" Of course, he was shut up by Kaoru who knocked him senseless into the ground.

"Don't talk like that while were eating Yahiko!" Kaoru exclaimed to him. Yahiko only rubbed his head then muttered something that sounded like "Ugly" Of course; he had a second bump on his head in no-time.

"Will you stop hitting me, Ugly! I was wounded remember?!" Yahiko yelled at her. Of course they were at each other's throats in no-time at all.

"Why… you… little…" Kaoru said. Okina, of course, being the nice (and sometimes perverted) old man that he is, decided to break up this fight.

"Now, now… stop fighting! I don't want any bloodshed in this house… today" he finished. He took the soup in his hands and slurped it down. Everyone's face grimaced.

"Uhh… Okina, please… have some manners" Omasu said, while hitting Okina across the head. A small bump started to grow on his head too. Everyone laughed.

A while after the breakfast was picked up, the girls, mainly Kaoru, Omasu and Ochika started talking about Misao in Kaoru's room.

"What do you think happened to Misao?" Ochika stated to say. "It's not like her to be acting all… quiet" She started stroking her long hair for no reason apparently. She still had a worried expression on her face.

"I don't know. Has she said anything to you Kaoru?" Omasu asked Kaoru. Kaoru seemed to be in deep thought. Would it be right to tell them? Maybe it would…

"She's a bit… resented." Kaoru started to say. "Towards Aoshi"

Both women started up at her with disbelief. "What?!" They said in unison. "But… but…" Yup, they seem to be reading each other's thoughts.

"Yes, she told me last night" Kaoru said a bit grimly. Both women noticed the attitude change, and took it very seriously.

"But, how did it happen? Misao was always very fond of Aoshi. This can't be happening! It's like the world is about to end!" Omasu was over reacting now. Kaoru waved both her hands in front of her face to make her calm down.

"No, the world isn't going to end Omasu. It's just that Misao isn't on good terms with Aoshi at the moment. I'm sure that she'll forget about it soon, just give her time." Kaoru tried to reason with them. Both of them settled for defeat, since they can't do anything regarding Misao's affections towards the ex-Okashira of the Oniwa Banshu.

The group of girls ended their conversation shortly after and went to work with fixing either the Aoiya, helping with the wounded or anything that would benefit everyone.

----

Somewhere, on the other side of Kyoto, Misao was wandering the streets. With really no where specific to go, she just wandered until she noticed where she was.

It was an open air-market. The same market that… that Aoshi would take her when she was small. Thinking of that made her slightly angry. "I don't know why I'm thinking about that fool…" Misao grumbled to herself.

A merchant, who was selling her produce to other customers, noticed Misao and called out to her. "Hey Misao! Misao!" The merchant was yelling to get Misao's attention, but it seemed that she was lost within her own thoughts.

Misao snapped out of her trance when she noticed an old lady calling her. It was her old friend who she knew since she was small. Her name was Tomiko. She was a kind lady, roughly reaching her 60's. She smiled and went over to Tomiko's stand.

"Hello Tomiko, how are you?" Misao tried to act friendly, like if nothing was bothering her. But Tomiko knew better. She knew that something was troubling Misao since she hasn't screamed like she would always do.

"Oh, nothing… You know how life is now a days. So tell me Misao, is everything all right? It was only several days since you and the Oniwa Banshu took on the Juppon Gatana. Is everyone alright back at the Aoiya?" Tomiko's voice held concern for Misao, but she only shrugged it off.

Misao smiled at her. "Everything is fine. We still have some wounded, but they're healing, so you don't have anything to be worried about Tomiko."

Tomiko wasn't buying her 'I'm fine' story, so she decided to go a bit farther. "So, where's Aoshi?" Tomiko smirked. This, she knew would get Misao talking. She has known Misao since she came to live at the Aoiya when she was very small. She would usually come with Aoshi himself, or with Okina.

Misao avoided looking into Tomiko's eyes. "I don't know." She said in a bitter, cold kind of way. Tomiko was taken a little by surprise.

"What do you mean you don't know, Misao? Has anything happened to you and Aoshi?" Tomiko was now on the verge of becoming extremely nervous.

Misao decided that it should be best that she left now. She doesn't think she could handle explaining her situation to another person. "I'm sorry Tomiko, I must go. I had promised Okina that I would do some errands for him. I'll talk to you some other time." And with that Misao started running back to the Aoiya. When she was far away from the market, she stopped and grabbed her stomach in pain. The ribs were still either broken or bruised and they still hurt.

"Damnit…" Misao muttered to herself. Clutching her ribs with her right hand, she decided to walk to the Aoiya. 'Every time I do any moving around, my ribs hurt. I guess I won't tell anyone for now.' Misao thought to herself and headed back slowly.

----

Before Misao had arrived at the Aoiya, Megumi showed up. Of course, she had been a few days late in getting Kyoto because of a riot that happened in Tokyo.

"Megumi! You're finally here!" Kaoru greeted her. Then, if she could she would have hit her across the head. "What took you so long?!" she yelled.

Megumi only glared at her. "I had things to do" she lied. She loved doing that to Kaoru. 

Kaoru shrieked. "What?!" Before Kaoru could grab Megumi by the neck, Okina came (yet again, the savior).

"What did I say?! No more bloodshed in the house! I don't think I could stand it again today!" he yelled, well sort of. He was pretty old, so he couldn't yell like he did when he was young. Megumi and Kaoru looked at him. Looked at each other and then back at him. Yes, he had gone crazy.

Megumi leaned towards Kaoru. "I thought he enjoyed seeing women fight…" she whispered but nevertheless never taking her eyes off the perverted old man.  Kaoru didn't say anything and only eyed the old man suspiciously.

Misao entered the Aoiya and everyone turned to look at her. Megumi was the first to noticed Misao cringing a little and clutching her side a bit painfully.

"Hello Misao" Kaoru greeted. "Where were you? It's been hours since you left!" Kaoru's maternal side just had to come out.

"I… Uhh…" Misao said uncertain. "I went to walk around. I needed to think for a while" She said and started heading towards her room. She stopped and turned around. "Opps, I forgot. Welcome Megumi" and she bowed a bit. This was a bad move since it made her ribs hurt even more than before.

Megumi bowed. "Misao, you were hurt in the fight weren't you?" She asked. Somehow, she eyed her with great concern but didn't show it.

"Yes I was. But so was everyone else. Why do you ask?" Misao said a bit suspiciously. Somehow, she didn't trust the fox.

Megumi started walking towards her to the stairs. "Well now child, don't just stand there! You're going to be my first patient!" And then Megumi had to do her evil cackle, laugh… whatever you call it and dragged Misao to her room.

"Odd…" Kaoru mumbled to herself. She looked at Okina who had a serious look on his face. 'What has crawled up everyone's ass lately?' she thought to herself. Kaoru went to the kitchen and asked Omasu and Ochika if she could help with lunch.

Of course, knowing Kaoru's reputation with cooking, sent her to the market to do some shopping instead.

----

A while later, in Misao's room, Megumi finished checking Misao. "You shouldn't do any physical activities for a while Misao." Megumi said seriously. "You already have a bruise where your ribs are. You're lucky that they aren't broken, that they're only swollen."

Misao stood quietly, not saying a word. She just nodded her head in agreement with Megumi. Megumi sighed and was about to leave her room when Kaoru started screaming… with… joy?

Megumi and Misao ran all the way downstairs to see what had happened. Of course, Misao had to clutch her side because it started to throb again.

Downstairs, all three of them were greeted by a wave of relief and happiness.

Sanosuke, Kenshin (who was unconscious at the time), and Aoshi had arrived back at the Aoiya. 

(AN: Yes, I know things are happening out of order, but that's how the story goes! Anything happening after the Shishio part in the anime series, just pretend it didn't happen! :D 

I know that some people spell "Ochika" as "Okon"… but "Ochika" is how I head it in the anime, so I kept it that way… so don't anyone kill me over the different spelling! They're still the same person! :D

Review Please! ^-^)


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